A remote sensing-based integrated approach for sustainable development of land water resources

Sustainable development of natural resources calls for utilizing these resources based on their potential and limitations. A remote sensing and geographic information system-based approach for the sustainable development of land and water resources has been developed. The approach involves the extraction of information on soils, water resources (both surface and ground water) and land use/cover from the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS-1A/1B) satellite's Linear Imaging Self-scanning Sensor (LISS-II) data, together with terrain and other information from ancillary sources, and integrating them with the social, cultural and economic needs of the people, and using a GIS as a tool. The integration helps in the generation of an action plan identifying specific interventions in a watershed based on contemporary technology, in consultation not only with scientific specialists in agriculture, horticulture, water resources, land use, forestry and soil conservation, but also with social scientists, non-governmental organizations and beneficiary farmers in the watershed. The early results of the implementation of action plans in some selected watersheds have been rewarding in that positive trends in slowing down land degradation, raising groundwater levels and greening of wastelands have been noticed. The paper concludes that, for sustainable development, a holistic and systemic approach is essential that takes into account analysis of multiple objectives, impact and risk analysis, and decision-making at the grass-roots level. Remote-sensing data plays a crucial and integral role in this endeavour.